Does a Coup in Myanmar Matter in the EMC?

Just over a week ago, Myanmar’s military took over the government it already largely controlled. It’s a puzzling move, and not welcome to Myanmar citizens, but what does it have to do with us? That’s a fair question—we have plenty to deal with here and little to offer there. Still, if a family member has a bad thing happen to them, we stop what we’re doing for a while to hear them—to find out what happened and how they’re coping. We find some way to express concern if we can, and spend a few moments in prayer on their behalf.

In this issue of GT we are going to have a look inside the country from before Myanmar hit the news. We’ll hear from a friend and national pastor on how they are doing in the days following the coup. And we’ll ask an EMC cross-cultural worker what it means to work in a country that isn’t particularly happy about Christian evangelism inside their borders.

Everyone in today’s issue is connected to EMC, but we’ll be shy about names and somewhat vague at points out of respect for the well-being of everyone involved.

One more thing: In researching for this issue, I had some fascinating conversations about how one might approach work and interaction with government officials in countries we don’t see eye-to-eye with—conversations that aren’t included today. Perhaps a future issue.